Motor What about optional extras like windscreen insurance and NCB protection?

losttheplot said:
Do newer cars have more complicated windscreens (sensors etc). A mechanic told me to replace some windscreens involves recalibrating the camera system on the car. So for newer cars windscreen cover is probably worth it.
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Shopping around recently I noticed that several policies have an upper limit of a few hundred euros on windscreen claims.

Stuff like windscreen cover, comprehensive cover etc may be justified where it's a really expensive car and/or one cannot afford to just pay for repairs but otherwise they seem a bit pointless to me...
 
I rang my insurance company recently, I have protected step back no claims, and if I put in a claim for windscreen it wong affect my NCD will be ok, it this is my one free claim so further claim would mean moving back in the NCD years.

The claim could be just to fix a chip in the windscreen, covered but this is my one claim on my protected NCB so next would impact my premium.
 
cloughy

You are missing the point.

Your insurance premium next year will be, say €500 - 40% NCB where = €300.

If that is too high you can shop around and bring your 40% NCB with you.

If you make a claim, they will leave the 40%.

But they can push the gross premium up to €1,000 and you can't do anything about it.

If you shop around, your NCB will be gone.

Brendan
 
@ClubMan. I used to work in the business, claims loadings are stated in the premium b/down. The policy specifically states no affect on NCD by w/screen claims. Were insurance solely rated on actuarial factors then all claims, and every other quantifiable risk would actually be included in the formulation of the "base premium." It is at least arguable then that they are in this sense. But it is also arguable that, given the flexibility/elasticity of premiums - such as when someone asks for a discount or is offered one - then strict actuarial guidelines are left out, and a formula of some type (how many people will query a premium as opposed to just renewing) comes into play.
 
horusd said:
Were insurance solely rated on actuarial factors then all claims, and every other quantifiable risk would actually be included in the formulation of the "base premium."
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But we know that is not how it works.

They have a range of factors which determine the likelihood of a person switching and if the likelihood is low, they get price walked.

I would imagine that the existence of a claim is a big factor in that.

Brendan
 
I had a windscreen claim last year, it appeared on my no claims bonus but it definitely didn’t caus a loading. My insurance almost halved from the previous year from shopping around. As I did the quote online and said I had 7 years no claims, when I went ahead with the insurance and showed my previous insurers No claims cert as part of the process a few days later if they had put a loading on it it would have changed the pricing/cancelled my policy.
 
@Brendan Burgess In my experience substantial claims experience would mean the insurer would be happy to part company with the insured, but minor claims, where the NCD was "protected" or "stepped back" may well be treated differently. This would depend on how the insurer was doing financially. Indeed, when the market was very competitive and a person had lost their NCD for a minor enough claim, some underwriters offered to view the claim using their own criteria (would the person have lost the NCD if with us?) and quote accordingly allowing the NCD. When I started in the business a quote was a quote with no room for manoeuvre, but that all changed when insurers made investment returns, and applied some interesting practices. It's not right, but it is what it is.
 
I was not saying it would affect NCD, what I was referring is if you had protected no claims, then you can have 1 claim without it affecting your NCD but windscreen is counted as a claim, so any further claim would affect your NCD.

The policy states than windscreen not affect your NCD, but bonus protection/step back it count, so any other real claim and the protection is not of use.

I know bonus protection only of use if you stay with your current insurer, but when changing provider do you have to tell them you have claimed for windscreen repair ?

I remember on a home policy *I think) my wife claimed jury duty and following year it was noted as a claim and had to argue with assessors to ignore it from pricing new policy.
 
cloughy said:
I know bonus protection only of use if you stay with your current insurer, but when changing provider do you have to tell them you have claimed for windscreen repair ?
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In my experience some ask about "any" claims (which would presumably include windscreen claims) while others ask separately about windscreen claims. This is on the online forms. The terms and conditions may have further clarification on what info needs to be divulged/volunteered.
 
My cover is due for renewal next month and, on foot of these discussions, I have decided to take TPFT rather than comprehensive (unless the additional cost is marginal as it is in some cases), to skip windscreen cover if it's optional and probably skip no claims protection. It's looking like Aviva is most competitive for me so unless Liberty cut last year's premium by about 40% (presumably unlikely) I'll be switching.
 
Just wondering - was there much of a saving?
 
odyssey06 said:
Just wondering - was there much of a saving?
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Liberty last year for comprehensive €520.
I haven't received my renewal quote yet.

Aviva this year for equivalent comprehensive €380.
Aviva for TPFT €320.

I have one named driver added which reduced both premiums. (With some other insurers a named driver will increase the premium).

Last year I had 4 years NCB - this year I have 5.
Last year I had my full license 3 years - this year 4.
No claims/points.
 
I'm a little surprised at the difference of comp compared to TPFT, thought it would be around the €30/€40 mark
I presume it depends on the value of the vehicle
For those thinking about dropping comp for TPFT, what's the cut-off point for making this decision??
 
The one optional extra I always get is breakdown cover. With some insurers it is included as standard, others it is an optional extra. My current insurer charges an additional €40, still way cheaper than the AA.

My current policy, the difference between comprehensive and third party is only €15.

On windscreen cover, I have never paid extra for it, and in over 30 years driving have only replaced 1 windscreen.
 
I have breakdown cover with Liberty, but
  1. I don't drive an awful lot or ultimately depend on the car that much
  2. I keep the car well serviced/maintained
  3. Over the 4 years that I've had insurance in my own name I could've paid out of my pocket for several tows/starts with the premiums that I've paid for breakdown cover to date
So, from this year, unless it's bundled as standard I won't bother with that either. It is with some TPFT policies but I can't remember offhand with Aviva.
 
ClubMan said:
In my experience some ask about "any" claims (which would presumably include windscreen claims)
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And others specify - "any accidents whether you claimed or not."

So if I bump into you and pay the €300 for your bumper directly to you, I should report it.

It's more of a "no accidents bonus" than a no claims bonus.

Brendan
 
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Brendan Burgess said:
And others specify - "any accidents whether you claimed or not."

So if I bump into you and pay the €300 for your bumper directly to you, I should report it.

Brendan
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I presumed that this only applied to accidents that were "on record" with either insurer and/or the Gardaí? But if two people settle a minor bump between themselves then it never officially happened as such? Am I wrong? Obviously I'm not promoting fraud.
 
Sorry, the difference between Aviva comp and TPFT is €35 in my case. The Aviva comp that I quoted included NCD protection (an extra €30) for a fair comparison with Liberty. That's what I meant by "equivalent comprehensive". I should've clarified that. But I'm not sure that it's worth MY while paying anything for comp since I am extremely unlikely to ever claim on it due to the longer term cost/penalties involved. But as I mentioned before it's a cheap car and I could afford to repair or even replace it myself if necessary.
 
ClubMan said:
So, from this year, unless it's bundled as standard I won't bother with that either.
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Fair enough, breakdown cover might not be worth the cost for everyone, most of my mileage is not near home, Mrs t and Ms t also drive the family car.

For me €40 is well worth it to know help is available 24/7 should there be a breakdown, flat tyre, run out of petrol etc.
 
Looking for a quote on Zurich website and see there is an option for 'social, domestic and pleasure' use and also 'social, domestic, pleasure and commuting'. Haven't seen this one before.
 
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